The trophy

The DFB Cup: Glittering gold for the winners

Created on 17-05-2014 at 09:30 AM

The precious object of desire is 52 cm tall and weighs 6,250 grams, and the volume of the bowl is eight litres. Those are the sober facts about the trophy both Bayern and Borussia Dortmund are aiming to win in front of a sell-out crowd at Berlin Olympic Stadium on Saturday night: the DFB Cup, created in 1965 by Cologne-based artist Wilhelm Nagel.

The new trophy replaced the so-called Tschammer Pokal: the DFB president at the time disliked the Nazi after-echoes of the original national knockout trophy. The gold plated cup is made from sterling silver, inlaid with 12 turmalines, 12 rock crystals and 18 nephrites. The DFB emblem in the centre consists of a single green nephrite. The notional value of the trophy is estimated at approximately €100,000, but in reality, and just like the championship shield, the DFB Cup is truly priceless.

The winners’ names and the year of their triumph are engraved on the base, which was extended in height by five centimetres in 1991 when space for the names of future winners ran out. The new base provides space until 2020.